Page 38 of Undercover Billionaire

‘You gotta give me right of reply,’ he said, his voice a low burr against her already aroused flesh.

‘Ari… This has to stop.’

His eyes went suddenly hooded and she saw the kind of struggle there that was currently squalling around her insides. ‘I know. I just didn’t expect to want you so much.’

‘Yeah.’ Kelsey nodded, her eyes locking with his. ‘Me neither.’

It didn’t make her feel better and she probably shouldn’t have admitted it to him, but it was the truth, damn it. And if he was man enough to own it then she was sure as hell woman enough.

‘So come back tonight, after your shift. What time do you finish?’

‘Eleven.’ God, was that her voice? She sounded like she’d just smoked an entire packet of cigarettes.

‘Okay. Good. Come back here after and let me…’ His gaze drifted down her body and zeroed in on the juncture of her thighs, and Kelsey was surprised her skirt didn’t burst into flames. He flicked his gaze back to her face. ‘Repay the favour.’

Kelsey felt the low pull of his words deep inside her sex, the muscles clenching in anticipation. She should say no.

But the manwasa freak with his tongue.

‘I… don’t know,’ she obfuscated. ‘Maybe.’

What she was doing was against the rules. She could lose her job. Fall short of her goals after seven hard years of being away from home and family, working long shifts and having zero privacy, all so she could provide a comfortable and dignified life for her mother.

She’d already been stupid where one man was concerned – had she learned nothing? But there was just something about Ari George that made her want to throw caution to the wind.

‘What does that mean?’ he asked.

Good question. Kelsey hated that a guy she hadn’t even known four days ago could have her in such a dither. Sexual frustration and denial were like prickles under her skin, needling and irritating. ‘It means maybe,’ she said, testily.

‘Okay.’ He held up his hands in a placatory manner.

His calmness added more prickles. ‘I really have to go.’

‘Then go.’

His voice wasn’t angry or accusatory or sulky. It was completely without emotion or emphasis. But, given what had just happened between them, his absence of emotion increased the prickle count exponentially.

Goddamnit. Shedid notwant to go. But she did. She turned around, grabbed the tray and exited his cabin.

* * *

Kelsey didn’t go to Ari after her shift. With Jean Paul gone there was controlled chaos all day as Ramon made a series of changes, and that night, when he asked her to work the casino bar after her shift at the Aphrodite Lounge finished, she’d said yes.

She could have said no but the bar staff at the casino earned the best tips. And as tempting as Ari’s proposition was, it was important to remember she’d been working on cruise ships for seven years for themoney, not sexy Greek men.

In a nine-month contract, she could earn about thirty thousand Aussie dollars and, with the tip money on top and no outgoing expenses, she was able to save almost all her income.

Shehadto remember her long-term financial goals.

Remember the cottage in Pelican Bay she wanted so much for her and her mother, who was going to be fully dependant in the next few years. Ari was for a week – her mother was for life.

So she worked the casino bar and hung with her bestie all night and between the two of them, the punters were kept charmed, liquored up and very happy to part with generous tips. And she refused to wonder what Ari was thinking about her absence or to feel guilty. She’d made him no promises.

But she was out on her feet at quarter after five the following morning when she and Tiff finally headed back to their cabins. Through the portholes, Kelsey could see they were docking in the port of Pireaus and she knew, in a few hours, passengers would be disembarking to spend the day in Athens.

Butshewould be snatching a few hours’ sleep because she had to be back on again in five hours for a ten-hour shift. It wouldn’t be anywhere near enough after pulling an all-nighter, but Ramon had offered her tomorrow off as recompense, so it was worth it. She’d finish at ten tonight and wouldn’t have to be back at work until 6p.m. the following evening.

She could sleep then. In fact, she planned to. She was going to sleep every last minute of it.

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